Publications

09 Sep 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching Climate Change to Skeptics

A few years ago, Joseph B. Lassiter traveled to San Francisco, Houston, and New York to hold discussions with Harvard alumni on the topic of business and the environment. Each time, he surveyed the audience about the touchy subject of climate change and how society... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

fictional three-party negotiation between a primary insurer and two reinsurers. It is appropriate for use in a wide variety of courses, including Financial Institutions, Negotiations, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 May 2011
What Do You Think?

How Ethical Can We Be?

practices that place a great deal of weight on "attitude" and "listening skills." Trust is a cornerstone of an efficient and effective system. Bad things happen when it is undermined by... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

November 25, 2015
Article

Developing Bundled Reimbursement for Cancer Care

By: Thomas Feeley, Tracy E. Spinks and Alexis Guzman

This case study describes the development of a bundled reimbursement pilot for head and neck cancer patients treated at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study describes the steps involved and the challenges to new alternative payment models in... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry

Read Now

January 2008 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Retail Sales of Health Insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Grady Clouse

The BCBS of Florida is contemplating whether to enter the consumer-driven health care market and if so, whether to target such groups—and individuals—and in which of its geographic markets, and how. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Florida

06 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

Curbing an Unlikely Culprit of Rising Drug Prices: Pharmaceutical Donations

counterintuitive driver: the fact that in the US, pharmaceutical companies subsidize the purchase of their drugs. Medicare, the government insurer for elderly or disabled people in the US, encourages patients who can’t afford their drug... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Insurance; Insurance; Insurance

November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

30 Jul 2001
What Do You Think?

What’s the Future of Corporate Governance?

don't invest the time necessary to provide effective oversight of management activities. And many are reluctant to tread too closely to the line between oversight and management. This may help explain why... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 2013 (Revised May 2014)
Case

OdontoPrev

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Matthew Lingenbrink, Joshua Turnbull and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho

Brazil's largest dental insurer, a successful and innovative firm, has saturated the corporate market and faces stiffer competition. It must decide whether to enter a new market in Brazil or to expand into other parts of Central and South America. View Details

Keywords: Health; Business or Company Management; Market Entry and Exit; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; North and Central America; Brazil

January 2023
Case

Thomas Buberl: Refounding AXA

By: Hubert Joly, Mihir Desai and Amram Migdal

In 2022, AXA and its CEO Thomas Buberl faced new types of challenges, including systemic risks such as climate change, geopolitical instability, public health crises, and social tensions caused by economic risks. AXA was one of the world’s largest insurers. Since... View Details

June 1989 (Revised July 1993)
Case

CIGNA Worldwide

By: John A. Quelch

A CIGNA Worldwide (CWW) task group of European country directors and key functional managers is meeting in November 1988 to discuss how CWW should respond to the European Community's plan to remove existing internal barriers and restrictions to the free flow of goods... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Insurance; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Trade; Insurance Industry; Europe

Find at Harvard

October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

November 2023 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Aviva plc: Examining Net Zero

By: Peter Tufano, Brian Trelstad and Matteo Gasparini

The board of Aviva Plc, one of the world’s largest insurers, must review its climate risk exposures and evaluate next steps. Risk experts at the firm have conducted a robust set of analyses prepared for its regulator, the Bank of England, simulating how various climate... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Climate Change; Insurance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Risk Management; Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Europe; United Kingdom

October 2022
Supplement

Beam Dental (B)

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

In May 2016, venture-backed Beam Dental was on the brink of financial collapse. Cofounder and CEO Alex Frommeyer weighed the unattractive terms of a bridge loan offered by Beam’s largest investor. Frommeyer needed to decide whether to accept the terms or concede defeat... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Insurance Industry; United States; Kentucky; Ohio

March 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Tufts Health Plan

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Nancy D. Beaulieu

Describes the introduction of capitation by a managed care company and the challenges of managing financial risk in the Medicare population. Focuses on the relationship between the health plan and physicians. View Details

Keywords: Health; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Risk and Uncertainty; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry